Lordi, live in London

The Eurovision winners come to claim the capital in the name of all things monster

It’s Easter Sunday and time to remember the time that bloke was nailed to a cross by eating chocolate eggs. Or something. It’s also time to get drunk and watch some horror-loving Finns bring monsters to life on stage – which is exactly what we did!

**LORDI ARE THE NEW IRON MAIDEN **Okay, this isn’t strictly true for a number of reasons, but there’s an old adage that states you can’t wear a band’s t-shirt to their own gig – unless it’s Iron Maiden. However it looks like this has been updated for a new generation as wherever you look tonight there’s the Lordi logo engulfed in flames on the back of an old tour t-shirt. 10⁄10 for branding, lads.

**THEY’RE NOT ALONE **Even though the purveyors of the Monsterican Dream take up most of the stage at Islington’s O2 Academy in their impressive devilish outfits made from skin (we presume), there’s still room for more! Throughout the set tonight we see maniacal figures in Twisted Sister-esque make-up, a woman straight outta Spitting Image pushing a pram and some rather ghoulish looking clowns!

**THEY’RE NOT JUST A EUROVISION NOVELTY **To the uninitiated, Lordi will forever be ‘that band that won Eurovision’ and to be honest that’s not an accolade any other metal band can lay claim to, but throughout tonight’s extensive set London is treated to all the big hitters from Lordi’s seven album career including Blood Red Sandman, Devil Is A Loser, Would You Love A Monsterman? and It Snows In Hell.

**BUT THEY DO, OF COURSE, DO THE SONG **As you’d expect from the headliners, they do indeed play the biggest song in their arsenal but surprisingly THE THIRD SONG IN. Whereas some bands may keep the big guns loaded until the inevitable encore, Lordi get Hard Rock Hallelujah out the way early to focus on their Scare Force One album as well as bass and drum solos – you might as well make the most of your time in the spotlight!

**EASTER RUINS GIGS **That being said, tonight isn’t the busiest show we’ve ever seen at the Academy. With it being Easter Sunday and the majority of London stuck in a chocolate-enduced coma, the venue is only around half-full. Which makes no odds to the band or the crowd as all guns are firmly blazing on stage to be met with hundreds of horns and pints held aloft from the metal masses. And what more do you want on Zombie Jesus Day?